COVID-19 calls for pandemic change – what's your new normal’?

COVID-19 calls for pandemic change – what will be your ‘new normal’?

COVID-19 is clearly asking something of us which is greater than medicine and economics.

by Dr Margaret Jiin Ngu

IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK

The world has been thrown into chaos handling crisis and challenges of the times with global lockdowns, restrictions, financial collapse and a lot of fear that many people will die.

It has become clearer that we will not be returning to how things were.

Chaos often precedes the call for transformation and in this case it's on a global scale.

EMERGING RESILIENCE

However what also was emerging was:

The building of resilience.
The emergence of innovative solutions to meet challenges in various businesses, schools and industries.
A new loving kindness to family, friends, communities.
An appreciation of a cleaner unpolluted earth.
The possibility of living with less comfort, and of increasing self-reliance and self-sufficiency.
People now caring for home and environment, and growing their own food.
Forging more connections to people and friends through social media.
And, surprisingly, feeling more visible and heard in some cases.

Questions about the future of humankind like ‘what is the new normal’ may lead to possible new paradigms for our world to embrace post COVID.

The survey did reveal a cynicism that people don’t want to learn, that people will go back to their old habits until the next crisis comes along. They think the pendulum will eventually swing back, the economic world will bounce back, workplaces will generally go back to normal, travel will resume, roads congest, factories spew out pollution, busy lives will return.

PHOTO BY RAVI ROSHAN | UNSPLASH

Complaining and blaming historically does not work, though a show of solidarity for change is vital. Thinking and talking about it is useful insofar as giving us hope for a future. I hope there is a slowing down in the future to shift consciousness. The power of pandemic change will be upon us as individuals – those of us who are moved by the changes of COVID-19, who have been impacted deeply, emotionally and don’t want your future to look the same. This may change families, small businesses, couples, leaders, etc. But will it be on a smaller, individual scale? To those of us who have tasted change and loved it – I’m excited for you. The human race is like a beach and each of us is the grain of sand that makes the beach; that is the beach can change only if we all get off our seats and do the change. What this means also is that whatever we are complaining about that is ‘out there’ that we don’t like, that pattern is in some measure within us also, albeit that it could be semi-consciously or unconsciously. This means we do have the power to contribute to pandemic change, as quantum sciences say all is energy, we are all connected, and our transformed butterfly wings can cause a storm for greater good and health for all people and planet.

POWER OF THE PEOPLE TO CHANGE THE PLANET

So, does it come to this: power of the people to change the planet is the power of each person; that is, YOU transforming and raising your vibration and then contributing your (metaphorically speaking) cleaned energy. That means you have to look into the mirror first and be the change you want. You need to be in a healthy space for the world to be healthy. You need to love yourself first for the planet to be in the loving space you want it to be.

When more of us are in that space then we will have the vision and love and will to sacredly govern our home – the Earth.

Loving yourself is work and play in action. Here is how you can begin, should you choose:

PHYSICAL ENERGY: RE-ENERGISE

An earthy and eco-friendly lifestyle of healthy diet, hydration, sunshine, exercise, good sleep and doing what you love.

Live clean and avoid toxins (anything that you let enter your body that will corrupt your cellular power houses that produce the energy you need for metabolism, growth and defence) like drugs, heavy metals and environmental poisons in the air, food, water, soils, pets, including adjuvants in vaccines.

Fortify your innate immune system (cleanse any toxic residues and take in good food, herbs or supplements that will give you Vitamins D, C, A, E, B’s, zinc, magnesium, selenium)

IMAGE: MARIO-CARUSO-0ZKAYLERMOA-UNSPLASH

Develop a healthy and diverse micro-biome by interacting healthily with your environment (people, pets, soil, plants).

Have a positive relationship to germs; they make up more than 50% of your body.

EMOTIONAL ENERGY: RE-ENERGISE

Know that the energy of unresolved negative emotions is like millstones around the neck that will certainly drown you. Learn emotional intelligence and how to release unwanted emotions.

Learn the right use of anger as energy that can be used to move procrastination, inaction and complacency to right action.

There are great helpers like Breathwork, Emotional Release, EFT, Journey practitioners.

MENTAL ENERGY: RE-EVALUATE

Dealing with fear: healthy fear is a message to take care – that we are in a potentially dangerous situation and need to heighten our alertness, and ready our bodies to take action if needed.

Get a hold of your fearful thoughts, whatever they may be. For instance:

the world is not safe
you can’t trust anyone
something bad is going to happen
everybody lies
you can’t trust anyone
something bad is going to happen
everybody lies

Negative thoughts ruin your nervous system, brain and immunity. What other negative self-beliefs are running your body? Maybe:

I’m not important
I’m not good enough
I don’t deserve
I’m not heard
I’m bad, etc

All of these are generated from the past experiences. When you realise how and when they arose and how that belief or thought stops you having what you want in the poignant areas of your life – wellness, relationships, finances, career – you then have a choice of how you can or want to be.

Look at what you are resisting and realise what you resist does persist and follows you around like a bad smell.

Take heed of the three pitfalls: criticism, comparison, competition. These are not friends; however from your past ‘crash sites’ with these, you can harvest the gems of the true and beautiful in others and in yourself.

Don’t do hearsay – look for actual facts and look out for conflicts of interest (yours or others)

Don’t relegate responsibility for what you need to know – research, analyse, revise.

Find great practitioners who do Byron Katie, Quantum Breakthroughs, Process Work, Hakomi psychotherapy.

SPIRITUAL ENERGY: RE-CONNECT

Practise mindfulness or meditation. Go beyond seeking for peace or peak experiences and look for what you can change – your patterns of thought, actions or behaviour that are stopping you from being the best version of yourself.

Know you are not alone – access your intuition and inspiration.
Be gentle and kind to yourself and others – forgive.
Love yourself as unique; nothing can compare.
Connect to others – know you are accepted and you belong.
Learn the right use of emotional and mental energy to create beauty, joy, relationships, money, the vocation that you want.
Have a spiritual practice – learn to live with uncertainty.
Know you are the purpose. What inspires you now during this period? Access spiritual quantum laws to manifest yourself.

RELATIONSHIPS: BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT

Relate to yourself first; love yourself.

Let the other be your mirror. If the garden is dull or dying, let it mirror for you what in yourself needs to be more alive or more radiant. All the world around you can show you the way and you need to be in the right space of quiet emotion and mind to see, hear and feel it. Hence your spiritual practices.

Ask, “If coronavirus is my teacher, what is it mirroring in me that is asking for transformation, and how will I begin that?”

It is only when our emotions, mind, and activity have come to a rest that we can see more clearly the wood for the trees as to the direction we take together and as one.

A POWERFUL AND SIMPLE EXERCISE YOU CAN USE

It is called the ‘flirt exercise’ (developed by Dr Arny Mindel, who founded Process Work, a process oriented psychological path). It’s based on his concept of ‘flirts’ – meaning tiny things that quickly catch our attention, but that we tend to ignore. You can do this exercise indoors or outdoors in nature.

IMAGE: SUGANTH | UNSPLASH

1. Write down a question that is on your mind.

2. Now, let yourself be a bit relaxed and dreamy. When you are ready, gaze around with ‘foggy’ eyes, and notice something that quickly catches your attention. (You might see a particular object, a shape, a colour, or something else. If many things catch your attention, choose the one that seems strongest just now.)

3. Meditate on that thing that caught your attention until you can sense the message it’s bringing you just now, and how it is an answer to your question. Finally, ask how you can now integrate that answer in some way into your feelings and thinking.

THERE ARE SILVER LININGS IN THIS PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN OF HUMAN ACTIVITY

It is so important to use this unusual and partly enforced time-out from the ‘normal’ fast pace of life to reflect, learn, change and evolve into healthier beings who can care better for each other and the environment. We can choose to perceive this as a forced rest and a coincidental experiment to see what happens to our planet and who we are as a collective society. Globally humanity have witnessed the definite improvements in our environment and ecology by culling back on human overactivity.

We are entering a new way of being – one of more responsibility and awareness; a new and higher vibration. Slow may well be the new black, and less may indeed be more. Many old ideas will fold to make way for more embracing collective attitudes of generosity, compassion, freedom and integrity.

ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING PART OF THE CATALYST FOR CHANGE IN THE WORLD?

You can begin your own project of what inspires you, lead one, or join those who have begun the practice of:

mindful self-reflection to re-evaluate their lives
inner transformations
strengthening resilience
contributing to innovative holistic changes within and without
loving kindness to families and communities
joining up with others to form supportive communities for plant, animal, human kingdoms

Quoting some participants in my survey:

“Unless we move towards some of the fundamental changes above then I think we are doomed to keep repeating the same pathological patterns.”

“Patience is linked to trust. When you fear the future and how long COVID-19 will continue to impact our lives, then patience wanes. If you focus on the impermanence of life, and the fact that ‘this too shall pass’, then living in the unknown can be easier to bear. I think COVID-19 simply highlights your mindset – it doesn’t change you – it simply draws out what is already there…for better or worse.”

“I have just stopped being concerned about returning to ‘normal’ – Just focussing on now rather than much of the future.”

“It is possible that Earth Humanity could unite.”

(Thank you to all who participated in and contributed to my survey.)

Accessing support:

If you are in urgent need of support, or are concerned that someone you know may be at immediate risk, contact the Beyond Blue Support Service.

The Australian Government is providing financial assistance to individuals who have lost their jobs to support themselves and their families.

If you are experiencing financial hardship, the National Debt Helpline offers free financial counselling.

Resources:

How COVID-19 is affecting our economy. Professor Taha Chaiechi www.jcu.edu.au/this-is-uni/articles/how-COVID-19-is-affecting-oureconomy

Nicola M, Alsafi Z, Sohrabi C, Kerwan A, Al-Jabir A, Iosifidis C, Agha M, Agha R, The Socio-Economic Implications of the Coronavirus and COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review, International Journal of Surgery, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2020.04.018.

9 future predictions for a post-coronavirus world. https://www. forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2020/04/03/9-future-predictions-fora-post-coronavirus-world/#68ef6af55410

Mental health toll of coronavirus to create ‘second wave’ of pandemic, experts warn. ABC Health & Wellbeing by health reporter Olivia Willis posted 30 April 2020 https://www.abc.net. au/news/health/2020-04-30/coronavirus-mental-health-secondwave-impacts-of-pandemic/12197930

Dr Margaret Jiin Ngu, an expert in Integrative Medicine, continues to support the community with nutritional, functional and oxidative (Ox ygen-Ozone) therapies, as well as being a mental health provider with focussed psychological tools.

I choose not to be a cancer victim

Beth Akister: "The time between first being told I had cancer & having my breast removed was 5 weeks... 5 unexpected lessons learnt during my cancer journey.”

Stargazer – astrology Apr 2024

Stargazer – astrology Apr 2024 – Venus; the secret to stellar relationships | How to find out where Venus is in your chart based on your date of birth – & more!

Stargazer – astrology for Jan 2024

Stargazer – astrology for Jan 2024 – Year of the Wood Dragon| Revolutionary rebirth|Ringing in the new year| Leo's full moon; avoid power struggles – and more!

Stargazer – astrology for Dec 2023

Stargazer – astrology for Dec 2023 – Prague’s astronomical history | Mercury retrograde's gifts | 7 solstice celebrations | Ringing in the new year, and more!

Stargazer – astrology for Nov 2023

Stargazer – astrology for Nov 2023 – Beltane fire festival| Egyptian cosmology| 2023 Sun-Mars conjunction by star sign| Gemini full moon, enthusiasm, and more!

2020: The year I started getting paid while lounging in the nude

How coping with the lockdown started a new business, re-ignited a creative passion, and cured anxiety.

INSIGHT · Nov 16, 2020

A framework for thriving through and beyond the pandemic

It may sound counter-intuitive but the key to thriving is struggle. So, if you have really struggled in lockdown this is your opportunity – grab it with everything you have!

INSIGHT · Nov 16, 2020

The environment in a post-lockdown world

Earlier this year, the world entered unchar ted waters when a coronavirus outbreak turned into a global pandemic. This placed the citizens of most industrialised countries in an unprecedented position, with home lockdowns, social distancing, and unfolding economic impacts whose ramifications are starting to emerge. The virus is affecting nearly everything, to a greater or lesser degree, including how environmental issues can be tackled.

INSIGHT · Nov 16, 2020

Finding pleasure and aliveness in a pandemic

Have you had a healthy relationship with your pleasure lately? How can we use sensual pleasure to become more resilient?

INSIGHT · Nov 16, 2020

How do you prosper during COVID-19?

Seeking strength through adversity, and adapting to change, Craig finds a way to prosper – and discovers a brand new passion along the way.

INSIGHT · Nov 16, 2020

The art of making meaning – post-pandemic style

Making meaning helps us endure and recover from traumatic experiences, and could help you thrive beyond COVID-19 by Larissa Wright

INSIGHT · Nov 16, 2020

I choose not to be a cancer victim

Stargazer – astrology Apr 2024

Stargazer – astrology for Jan 2024

Stargazer – astrology for Dec 2023

Stargazer – astrology for Nov 2023

2020: The year I started getting paid while lounging in the nude

A framework for thriving through and beyond the pandemic

The environment in a post-lockdown world

Finding pleasure and aliveness in a pandemic

How do you prosper during COVID-19?

The art of making meaning – post-pandemic style

LivingNow Magazine

Categories

Social Footprints